In Front of the Rose Garden
by XXPay4XtraShippingsXX
Summary: Darach's not acting himself today, and Catlin's shocked when she learns why. Will things work out between them?


**One of my older ones that I forgot to post till now. Not my best, but whatever. I altered it a little bit. Hope you like it *cringes***

* * *

Caitlin rolled her eyes as she watched as the challenger called out an attack. Pitiful. This Trainer was obviously new to the Battle Frontier and way too confident. Of course Darach would defeat hi-what?

She jerked out of her position and nearly fell off the balcony. Darach missed the perfect opportunity and used the worst possible move! Forgetting her duty to watch and remain silent, she cried, "What was that?!" Darach looked up at her calmly.

"Kindly remain silent until the battle has concluded, please, Lady Caitlin," her butler reminded her gently. "And forgive me, my lady. I am a bit distracted today."

"I'll say," Caitlin muttered as she sat back down. _She_ should be the one battling and not her…distracted…butler. The battle became more and more painful to watch until, in one final, awful move, Darach lost spectacularly. Groaning, Caitlin buried her face in her hands in shame.

"Ahem? Lady Caitlin?" Darach waited for her to give him the command.

She looked up and sighed. "Just give him his BP."

Darach, looking somewhat amused, gave the Trainer the reward.

As she stepped onto the ground floor, Darach stopped her.

"Milady? Excuse me for troubling you, but I will need to see you in the garden in an hour. It is extremely important."

"Fine," said Caitlin. She walked to her room, unaware of her butler watching her as she left.

* * *

Darach fiddled with his pocket watch as he stood in front of the roses. Why was he doing this? He was her valet. Her _butler_. How could this even be possible? Yet there was still a chance that she would comply. After all, she was seventeen. That was almost an adult age; she would be eighteen next month. But then, she would go off, like she always dreamed of and forget her poor, lonely butler…

He was shaken free of his thoughts as the girl walked up to him. "Yes, Darach? What is it, another pay raise?"

"No. It is much more. " Darach was shocked at how deep and emotional the words came out. But now that he had spoken, the words poured out, unstoppable. "Lady Caitlin, I have grown so fond of you. I have loved and admired you for years, and I hope that you feel the same way about me…"

Caitlin's eyes grew wide and her face became as red as the roses she stood near. She could not even speak. All she could do was blush and shake her head.

"Please, Lady Caitlin, I do not mean to shock you. I just cannot work without knowing how you feel about me any longer. I am still the same butler who has taken care of you…"

"No!" Caitlin suddenly found her voice, but it was high-pitched and stammering. "Darach, this behavior is unacceptable. You cannot work here any longer with these feelings, I will not tolerate it!"

Darach's face grew pale with fear. The mere thought of being fired kept him awake at night, and his nightmare was coming true. "Lady Caitlin…"

"No excuses, buts, or pleases! Get out NOW!"

Darach, with a look of utmost sorrow and hurt on his face, uttered a "Yes, milady Caitlin" and slunk out of the room and within an hour he was gone, along with every trace that he had ever lived at the castle.

Once he was gone, Caitlin ran into her room and burst into tears. She only realized how much she would miss her butler when it was too late.

* * *

**3 Years Later**

"Caitlin! Come proofread the book I'm writing, I want to be positive it's correct!"

Caitlin turned to see Shauntal running towards her, horror story in hand. "Okay, sure!"

Caitlin took one look at the unorganized papers and raised an eyebrow. "There's no punctuation on this."

The novelist looked at her story in dismay. "Oh, what is wrong with me? I'm a disgrace, that's what I am, I'm never going to be a good author, I may as well just—"

"Stop!" gasped Caitlin. "You were probably stressed out. Go fix your error and bring the book back."

Shauntal sighed. "Yeah, I was. With those trainers running around the building…"

"Oh, I _know._ That whole castle thing was a big fat _mess_. I'm so glad it's over!"

As Shauntal left, Marshall charged in. "Have you seen Alder? The challenger has just defeated me and he is wondering why the Champion is not here! We have been in a frenzy trying to find him!"

"I heard that he was going to Anville Town to relax. If you want, I'll get him," mentioned Caitlin.

Marshall sighed. "Would you? I have had such an exhausting day…"

"Of course I would. I need a break from battling anyway."

The train to Anville Town was delayed, but Alder was engaged in conversation with a young man he had just met in the train station. The man was an oddly polite fellow, as if he had been raised that way. Alder liked that. Younger people needed to learn some manners. As they spoke, they heard a voice call out.

"Heey, Alder!"

The men turned around to see Caitlin running and waving. When she caught up to them, she was panting and sweating.

"Whoa, did you run all the way here?" laughed Alder.

Caitlin glared at him. "No, Alder, I used my magical psychic teleporting powers as I've not a Flying Pokemon with me. Duh, I ran!" She turned to the stranger and smiled.

The man, of course, recognized her right away. A fine thing it would be to forget the face of the woman he had always loved! Then he realized he was staring. "Oh, my, how rude. Excuse me, madam," said the man, snapping out of his trance. "You…remind me of someone I knew."

"You don't say," said Caitlin. Something about this man was familiar to her as well. She was still panting and did not realize that she was holding up the line, and Alder's voice yanked her away from her thoughts.

"Let's take you somewhere you can catch your breath." The three moved to a bench outside of the station. She sat panting and breathing hard. The stranger was looking at her with a look of concern.

"So, what's up?" questioned Alder.

"Marshall needs you, it's urgent. I think there's a challenger with no Champion to battle."

Alder's face turned serious. "I'd better go, then!" He hastily ran off.

The stranger turned to Caitlin. "I would love to talk, but I am afraid that you will be wishing of my leave."

Caitlin was confused. "Why would I be wishing for your leave? And who talks like that, anyway?" she demanded.

The stranger chuckled. "My dear Caitlin, I would think you had figured this out by now."

Caitlin gasped. "Darach?"

He nodded and, suddenly overcome with emotion, he embraced her. He let go after a while. "When I found out you had become a member of the Elite Four, I had to come congratulate you. But when I arrived at the Pokémon League building, I remembered my behavior towards you. I could not show my face to you after that, I was still too ashamed." He closed his eyes and hung his head.

"It's in the past…" Caitlin began, but then and there she realized something. She didn't _want_ it to be in the past. She wanted it to be their future.

Darach noticed her change in expression when she realized this. It was blatantly obvious. However, her former butler was too polite and compassionate to tell her this. Instead, he gently put a gloved hand on her chin and turned her face toward his. "Caitlin? Are you all right? You seem to have something on your mind."

Caitlin blushed. Darach's voice was concerned and hopeful. His eyes, a brilliant shade of violet, were staring into hers. Behind his glasses was an expression of pure hope and wonder. She had no idea how to convey her feelings into words, so she tried to take the easy way out.

"Nothing…is…wrong," she choked out. Darach shook his head and gave a small smile. He leaned in close.

"Yes, something is wrong," whispered Darach. His voice was deep and emotional. It almost made her faint.

Caitlin couldn't even speak this time. She was blushing furiously and was unable to meet his gaze, yet when he was so close it was impossible not to. She could only close her eyes. That same instant she realized that her lips were only inches away from his. Caitlin closed her eyes, leaned forward, and kissed him.

This time it was Darach's turn to blush. As he closed his eyes, his hand slipped from Caitlin's chin and fell onto one of her own hands.

The two broke apart after a few seconds. Caitlin smiled bashfully and looked down. "I had better get back to the Pokémon League building. They're probably wondering where I am."

Darach stood up and straightened his glasses. Then he smiled and offered his hand. "Perhaps I should come along. It would not do for a lady such as yourself to arrive sweaty and panting."

Caitlin looked up at him and slipped her hand into his. "I think I would like that very much," she giggled.

Hand-in-hand, the pair departed towards the Pokémon League, not minding a bit at the long journey that awaited them.

* * *

**Please don't hate me! I'll give you a cookie! Or, like, a Poffin or something...**


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